Basically, the story is that a plane was delayed on the tarmac in Beijing for something like 3-4 hours. On board were members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, some of whom (when it became clear that this delay was going to be loooooong) pulled out their instruments and played selections of Dvorak for the rest of the passengers. Most of the people on the plane seem delighted by this, and my husband and I both agreed that this was really awesome, and we would love it if something like this happened to us. I told one of my friends about it though, and her response was "Well sure it's great- unless you don't like Dvorak!"

She was joking, but it did kind of get me idly wondering- the orchestra members were obviously trying to do something nice, but could it possibly be construed as rude to just start playing for a completely captive audience like that? A plane isn't a big space, obviously, and if you didn't like the music or had a headache or something, you really couldn't get away. Personally, I really like classical music, so I would have been delighted by a free Dvorak concert, but if it had been, say, a heavy metal band (I *hate* heavy metal), I would have appreciated that they meant to be nice, but would secretly have been thinking "Oh Lord, please stop, you are making this delay that much more unbearable."

So what do you think? I personally don't think what they did was rude, but could it be seen that way? How would you feel if this happened to you?

Logged

"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies DO divert me, I own- and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Jane Austen

Wow would I be annoyed! I watched that whole 1.5 minute clip just to be able to give honest feedback, but I have to say by abut 30 seconds in I was thinking "what an absolutely awful sound!" and by 1 minute it was truly unpleasant and uncomfortable sounding. I personally find it hard to conceive how people enjoy that sound. I can appreciate the talent it takes to play the instruments but I really, really, really did not like that music. I also imagine it was very loud in the enclosed space of an airplane.

I would be ok with it for say 5 minutes because hey, i realize its not all about me, but for longer then that I would be very tempted to yell at them to be quiet and leave people in peace.

I probably would have pulled out my earplugs and used them. I agree with WillNilly, I appreciated the talent, but not the music. 3 to 4 hours waiting on the tarmac is stressful enough without having to be a captive audience.

I wouldn't mind. If it was a type of music I didn't like, I'd ask the airplane for headphones (all airplanes I've been on have music you can listen to so if I didn't have my ipod with me I'd still be able to pick what music I wanted to hear to some extent!)

I would have loved this and been thrilled to see it close up. That being said, if you didn't like the music, you certainly would have been trapped in close quarters with it. I think too it would depend how long they were playing for. 20-30 minutes ok, the whole 3-4 hours, not so much.

I think this is a lovely way to help passengers pass the very long wait.

WillyNilly, I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not. Have you truly never heard a string orchestra before? I am trying to understand how you could hear an "absolutely awful sound" in that.

I hope one would not yell at them (especially not an ehellion), but would instead ask a stewardess to have them put the instruments away.

Yes I was serious and yes I have heard string orchestras before, amazing ones. Heck I saw John Williams leading the London Symphony Orchestra perform the soundtrack of Star Wars, and twice annually for the last 7 years I have attended a local oratorio group that is accompanied by a full orchestra and performs mainly classical pieces. And yet I think the high pitched screechiness of that piece was absolutely awful and uncomfortable, it was almost painful to listen to. I'm not a huge fan of classical music or orchestra music to begin with, and I have to say that clip was one of the worst sounding examples of the genre.

Even without great acoustics on an airplane, this would be fun and a good memory! They probably didn't play for the entire three hours; just that selection.

(I wonder why they couldn't get off the plane and wait in the terminal. On our way home from China, the plane landed in Shanghai and everyone in the giant jet had to disembark just to get in a huge line to show our passports. Why that couldn't be done in the plane, I don't know).

Maybe not the whole 3-4 hours, but I would enjoy an impromptu 10 minute concert just to break up the monotony. I'm not a classical music fan, but I also don't travel well. ("Why are we just sitting here? I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored. Don't wanna read my book. This puzzle's stupid. My butt hurts. Aren't we leaving yet? Ooooo, what are they going to do with those instruments?")